Liquid handling mechanism

ABSTRACT

An improved liquid handling mechanism in which a pick-up roll is actuated by eccentrics on the shaft ends to move toward and away from a liquid carrying roll to pick up liquid therefrom with the pick-up roll being maintained in a constant pressure relationship with a liquid receiving roll and transferring a uniform film of liquid thereto.

United States Patent 151 3,683,805 Harless [45] Aug. 15, 1972 [54]LIQUID HANDLING MECHANISM 2,248,645 7/1941 Schlesinger ..101/350 72Inventor: Charles A. Har'ess, Riverside Conn 2,857,840 10/1958 Bachman..101/350 2,929,316 3/1960 Fowlle ..101/148 Asslgneer gr g g pCorporation, 3,062,138 11/1962 Worthington ..101/350 eve an 1o r [22]Filed: y 23, 1970 FOREIGN PATENTS OR AIPITLICATIONS [211 pp No; 57,566908,692 10/1962 Great Britain ..101/D1G. 6

' Primary ExaminerJ. Reed Fisher [52] US. Cl ..101/350, l0l/D1G. 6All0rney-Y0unt and Tarolli [51] Int. Cl. ..B4lf 31/14 [58] Field ofSearch l01/D1G. 6, 348-363, [57] ABSTRACT 101005-209 148 An improvedliquid handling mechanism in which a pick-up roll is actuated byeccentrics on the shaft ends [56] References cued to move toward andaway from a liquid carrying roll UNlTED STATES PATENTS to pick up liquidtherefrom with the pick-up roll being maintained in a constant pressurerelationship with a 2,467,199 4/1949 Faeber ..101/348 liquid receivingroll and transferring a if fil of 1,450,270 4/1923 Walser et a1 101/350liquid thereto 1,981,912 11/1934 Fankboner ..101/364 X 3,563,173 2/1971Harless ..101/148 4 Claims, 5 Drawing figures PATENTEDAUG 15 1972 SHEET1 1F 3 mwavrok CHARLES A. HARLESIS ATTORNEYS PATENTEDAua 15 1912 3.683;805

sum 2 or 3 m/n-wroe CHARL 55' A. HA/Q ass PATENTEDAUG 15 m2 3.683, 805

sum 3 or 3 lNl/E/VTOR CHARLES A. HARM SS ATTORNEYS LIQUID HANDLINGMECHANISM The present invention relates to a liquid handling mechanismwhich includes a liquid carrying roll, a liquid receiving roll and apickup roll for transferring liquid therebetween and, more particularly,relates to a liquid handling mechanism in which the pick-up roll intermittently moves into a liquid receiving relationship with the liquidcarrying roll while maintaining a constant pressure relationship withrespect to the liquid receiving roll.

Although the principles of the invention will be described withreference to an inking mechanism for a press, it is to be understoodthat the invention has broader application and may be used in othertypes of liquid handling mechanisms in which a film of liquid is to betransferred from one roll to another.

Mechanisms for transferring ink from a liquid carrying rollor fountainroll to a liquid receiving or transfer roll by means of a pick-up rollare known. The pick-up roll generally rotates at approximately the samespeed as the liquid receiving roll while the fountain roll is rotated ata substantially slower speed. The speed of rotation of the fountain rollnormally is adjustable thereby to vary the amount of liquid transferredto the pick-up roll. As is well known, the pickup roll moves toward andaway from the fountain roll and intermittently engages the fountain rollto pick up liquid therefrom and transfer the liquid to the liquidreceiving roll.

Various mechanisms have been employed to move the pick-up or ductor rollinto and out of engagement with the liquid carrying or fountain roll.One such arrangement is shown in Worthington U.S. Pat. No. 3,062,138which discloses the use of an eccentrically mounted pick-up roll formoving the roll toward and away from the fountain roll. It is desirablethat a constant pressure relationship be maintained between the pick-uproll and the liquid receiving roll so that a uniform film of liquid willbe transferred to the liquid receiving roll. On the other hand, if thepressure between the pick-up roll and the liquid receiving roll varies,a non-uniform film of liquid will be transferred. In addition, thepickup roll is commonly coated or covered with an elastic material whichis kneaded and distorted when a varying pressure relationship ispresent.

It is an important object of this invention to provide a liquid handlingmechanism in which a uniform film of liquid is transferred to a liquidreceiving roll.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a liquidhandling mechanism in which a constant pressure relationship ismaintained between the pickup roll and the liquid receiving roll. 7

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a liquidhandling mechanism in which liquid is transferred' from a liquidcarryingroll to a liquid receiving roll by means of a pick-up roll whichis in constant engagement with the liquid receiving roll but which movescircumferentially relative to the liquid receiving roll to maintain aconstant pressure relationship therebetween.

It is a further specific object of this invention to provide a liquidhandling mechanism which transfers liquid from a liquid carrying roll toa liquid receiving roll by means of a pick-up roll which has a constantpressure relationship with the liquid receiving roll and is moved towardand away from the liquid carrying roll by means of an eccentricdrivingly connected to the shaft ends of the pick-up roll.

It is a still further specific object of this invention to provide aliquid handling mechanism which transfers liquid from a liquid carryingroll to a liquid receiving roll by means of a pick-up roll which has anadjustable but continuous pressure relationship with the liquidreceiving roll and is movedtoward and away from the liquid carrying rollby means of an eccentric drivingly connected to the shaft ends of thepick-up roll.

Still more specifically, and in accordance with the preferred form ofthe invention, there is provided a liquid handling mechanism whichincludes a pick-up roll for transferring liquid from a liquid carryingroll to a liquid receiving roll while maintaining a constant pressurerelationship with respect to the liquid receiving roll. The pick-up rollis supported for pivotal move ment relative to the liquid receiving rollin a direction circumferentially with respect to that roll. Thiscircumferential motion of the pickup roll with respect to the liquidreceiving roll is achieved by pivotally supporting the pick-up roll forpivoting movement about an axis co-axial with the axis of rotation ofthe liquid receiving roll thereby maintaining a constant pressurerelationship between the two rolls and, thus, a uniform distribution ofthe liquid on the liquid receiving roll without kneading the surface ofthe pick-up roll. The pick-up roll is moved toward and away from theliquid carrying roll by an eccentric drivingly connected to the shaftends of the pick-up roll. Adjustable means are provided for adjustingthe pressure relationship between the pick-up roll and the liquidcarrying roll.

The present invention may also include drive means connecting thepick-up roll with the eccentric so that, by varying the drive ratio ofthe drive means, the eccentric may be rotated at a rotational speeddifferent from the rotational speed of the pick-up roll. This allows fora smooth, high speed operation of the liquid handling mechanism and alsoallows the proper amount of liquid to be picked up by the pick-up rollregardless of the speed of rotation of the pick-up roll.

Other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be apparentto those skilled in the art to which it relates from the followingdetailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawingsforming a part of this specification and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of the liquid handlingmechanism of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. I;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a modified form ofv the invention in whicha drive means is employed to drive the eccentric; I

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of the angular relationship betweenthe components of the drive means of FIG. 4.

Referring now in detail to the drawings wherein the showings are forpurposes of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention onlyand not for the purpose of limiting same, there is illustrated in FIG. 1an inker mechanism, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10,which incorporates the principles of this- THE FOUNTAIN ROLL The liquidcarrying or fountain roll 12 is supplied with a film of liquid from anink fountain in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. The inkfountain 20 is suitably supported on the frame of the printing press andincludes a fountain body 22 having a bottom and upwardly extending sides24 adapted to receive a liquid such as ink therein. The upwardlyextending sides 24 rotatably support the opposite shaft ends of theliquid carrying roll 12 in a manner such that the liquid is picked up bythe peripheral surface 26 of the roll 12 as the roll rotates relative tothe fountain. The liquid carrying roll 12 is adapted to be rotated in adirection generally indicated at 28 by suitable drive means, not show.As the roll 12 is so rotated, a film of liquid is formed on theperipheral surface 26 and it is to be understood that the thickness ofthe ink film may be adjusted by devices well known in the prior art suchas ductor blades or the like.

THE TRANSFER ROLL Transfer roll 18 is supported on a shaft 30. The shaft30 is rotatably supported in a stationary fame 32 by suitable bearings34. The shaft 30 is connected to a suitable drive means, not shown,whereby the roll 18 is rotated. Since the roll 18 is in frictionalengagement with the surface of the liquid receiving roll 14, it isapparent that the transfer roll 18 will also cause rotation of the roll14.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the transfer roll 18receives the ink film from the roll 14 and transfers that film to otherportions of the inker mechanism, not shown.

THE LIQUID RECEIVING ROLL The liquid receiving roll 14 comprises acylinder 36 rotatably supported by bearings 38 on a shaft 40 forrotation relative to the shaft. A flexible or elastic covering 42 iscarried on the exterior peripheral surface of the roll cylinder 36, andis bonded or otherwise secured thereto for unitary rotation with thecylinder.

The ends of the shaft 40 are supported in a manner best viewed in FIGS.1 and 2. As there shown, a tubular support member 44 extends from theframe 32 with the tubular member being concentric to, but spaced from,the transfer roll shaft 30. A support arm 46 is connected to the outerextremity of the tubular member 44 with the support arm 46 lying in aplane generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tubularmember 44 and shaft 40. An openslot 48 is formed in the support arm 46with the end of the shaft 40 being received in that slot. A covering capor book 50 is secured by appropriate means such as a screw 52 to the arm46 with a portion of the block overlying the slot 48 hereby maintainingthe shaft end in the slot.

The other end of the support arm 46 is supported by a bracket 54. Thebracket 54 comprises a bracket rod connected at one end by fasteningmeans 55 to the frame 32 with the outer end of the bracket arm includinga pair of space arms 56. A lug 58 on the support arm 46 extends betweenthe arms 56. A pair of threaded cap screws 59 are threaded intoappropriate apertures in the lug 58 thereby to secure the lug, and hencethe arm 46, to the bracket 54.

THE PICK-UP ROLL The pick-up roll 16 is supported for rotation by ashaft 60. The opposite ends of the shaft 60 are supported for rotationby a pair of swinging levers, only one of which is illustrated in FIG. 2and to which specific reference will be made. The swinging lever 62 issupported by bearings 64 for swinging movement relative to a stub shaft66. The stub shaft 66 is carried on the support member 46 by appropriatemeans such as threaded fasteners 68. It is important to note that thestub shaFt 66 is co-axial with the shaft 40 so that the lever 62 swingsabout the center of rotation of the liquid receiving roll 14.

The lower extremity of the swinging lever 62 has an aperture 69 throughwhich the end of shaft 60 extends. A bearing 70 is received over theshaft with the inner race of the bearing being in engagement with theshaft to rotatably support the shaft relative to the swinging lever 62.

An adjustment member 72 is associated with the swinging lever 62. Theadjustment member 72 includes an opening 74 through which the shaft 60extends. The adjustment member 72 further includes a cylindrical ortubular projecting portion 76 which projects into the aperture 69 in theswinging lever 62 with the inner peripheral surface 77 of thecylindrical portion 76 supporting the bearing 70. The outer peripheralsurface 78 of the cylindrical portion 76 cooperates with the surface ofthe aperture 69 to define therebetween an eccentric bearing foradjusting the position of the roll 16 relative to the roll 14 in amanner hereinafter described.

The swinging lever 62 further includes a pair of spaced apart lugs 80which project from the face of the lever 62. Each lug 80 includes athreaded adjustment screw 82 with the screws 82 engaging therebetween aportion 84 of the adjustment member 72.

The described adjustment member 72 functions to adjust the pressurerelationship between the pick-up roll 16 and the liquid receiving roll14 in the following manner. The adjusting screws 82 on the lugs 80 arenormally threaded to a position where the portion 84 is clampedtherebetween thereby securely fastening the adjustment member 72 to theswinging lever 62 for unitary movement. To effect an adjustment, thescrews 82 are backed off thereby freeing the adjusting member 72 forlimited rotational movement relative to the swinging lever 62. Theadjusting member 72 is then rotated circumferentially of the shaft 60.As the adjusting member is so rotated the cylindrical portion 76 is alsorotated in aperture 69 with the cooperating eccentric surfaces 78,69causing the position of the bearing 70 to be shifted relative to thelever 62. As the bearing 70 is shifted, the roll 16 is also shiftedeither toward or away from the roll 14 depending on the direction ofrotation of the adjusting member 72. This shifting of the roll 16 and,hence, the rotational axis of the shaft 60 is indicated in FIG. 3 by thereference letter A. It will be apparent that as the rotational axis ofthe roll 16 is shifted, so also the pressure relationship between theroll 16 and the roll 14 may be varied. Once the proper pressurerelationship has been achieved, the screws 82 are then threaded backinto engagement with the portion 84 on the adjusting member 72 therebylocking the adjusting member to the swinging lever 62.

From the foregoing, it should be apparent that the roll 16 is supportedby the swinging levers 62 for pivotal movement about the axis of theliquid receiving roll 14. By supporting the pick-up roll in this manner,the roll 16 is constrained to move such that its rotational axis movesabout the rotational axis of the liquid receiving roll 14 and therebymaintains a constant pressure relationship between the two rolls. Inthis manner, the problem of kneading the surface of the rolls iseliminated since the pressure remains constant at all times. Moreover,this constant pressure relationship achieves the desirable result oftransferring a uniform film of liquid from the pick-up roll 16 to theroll 14.

The pick-up roll 16 moves about the circumference of the liquidreceiving roll 14 and toward and away from the liquid carrying roll 12to pick up liquid therefrom. The movement of roll 16 toward roll 12 isaccomplished by an eccentric on each end of the shaft 60. Thus,referring to FIG. 2, an eccentric 90 is received over the end 92 of theshaft 60 and is secured to the shaft for rotation therewith by anappropriate key 93. The eccentric 90 is rotatably supported in a housing94 by a bearing 96 with the housing 94 being supported by one end of aconnecting rod 98. The other end of the connecting rod 98 furtherincludes a threaded adjustment 102 whereby the distance between theendsof the connecting rod may be varied. By so varying the distance, thegaps or spacing between roll 12 and 16 may be varied and, hence, theamount of liquid picked up by the roll 16 from the fountain roll 12 maybe varied.

The pick-up roll 16 is rotated through frictional engagement with theliquid receiving roll 14. As the pickup roll 16 is rotated, the shaft 60and, hence, the eccentric 90 are also rotated. As the eccentric 90rotates, the rotational axis of the shaft 60 is shifted relative to therotational center of the bearing 96. The swinging or pivoting supportprovided by the connecting rod 98 and the swinging lever 62- accommodatethis shifting of the rotational axis 60. However, and most importantly,the swinging lever 62 constrains the roll 16 for move mentcircumferentially of the roll 14 and prevents the roll 16 from shiftingradially of the roll 14 thereby maintaining a constant pressurerelationship between the two rolls.

As the axis of rotation of roll 16 is shifted, roll 16 movescircumferentially about the liquid receiving roll 14 but toward roll 12in such a manner that a liquid transfer action is effected. Thismovement allows the pick-up roll 16 to intermittently pick up liquidfrom the fountain roll 12 and transfer the liquid to the roll 14.Desirably, the pick-up roll does not physically contact the periphery ofthe roll 12 but, rather, moves into liquid transferring contact with thefilm of liquid on roll 12.

connected to an actuator rod 118 which is pivotally attached to anextension 120 of the eccentric 1 16.

The eccentric 116 rotates about the center 100 on which the connectingrod 98 is pivotally supported. When the actuator rod 118 rotates theeccentric 116, the center 100 moves with respect to the center 114 ofthe pin 112 thereby changing the center distance between the pick-uproll 116 and the liquid carrying roll 12 such that the pick-up roll ismoved to a position where it can no longer operatively engage thefountain roll 12.

SUMMARY OF OPERATION It is believed that the operation of the liquidhandling mechanism is apparent from the foregoing description but willbe briefly summarized. The transfer roll 18 provides the drive forrolls14 and 16 through the frictional contact of the three rolls. Fountainroll 12 is separately driven at a pre-selected speed.

With the throw-off mechanism inoperative, that is, with roll 16 in anoperative position, and with the desired pressure relationshipestablished between rolls l4 and 16 by adjustment of the eccentricadjustment member 72, the mechanism is ready for operation. As drive isimparted by roll 18 to roll 14 and on to roll 16, shaft 60 and eccentricare rotated. Rotation of eccentric 90 causes a shifting movement of therotational axis of shaft 60 and roll 16. This shifting movement istranslated by levers 62 into circumferential movement of roll 16relative to roll 14 thereby maintaining a constant pressure relationshipbetween the two rolls. As roll 16 moves circumferentially, it movestoward roll 12 and establishes a liquid transferring relationship withthat roll.

The film of liquid picked up by roll 16 is, because of the constantpressure relationship, uniformly transferred from roll 16 to roll 14with roll 14 then transferring the liquid to roll 18.

MODIFICATIONS With the construction and operation described above, itwill be apparent that the important object of maintaining a constantpressure relationship between the pick-up roll and the liquid receivingroll is achieved. Deviation from the established pressure relationshipis avoided during operation of the mechanism due to the swingablesupport provided by the swinging lever 62 which prevents any radialmovement of theroll 16 toward the roll 14. Inaddition, the adjustingmember 72 provides a convenient means by which the pressure engagementbetween the two rolls may be adjusted. I

When a printing press is operated at high speed, it is desirably to beable to adjust the number of times the pick-up roll contacts the liquidcarrying roll and received liquid therefrom. Such an arrangement allowsfor better control of the liquid supply to the liquid receiving roll.There is illustrated in FIG. 4 a modified liquid handling mechanismwhich includes provision for such an adjustment. This modifiedconstruction provides a drive means for rotating the eccentric whichmoves the pick-up roll toward and away from the fountain roll at a speedother than one dip or liquid transfer for each revolution of the pick-uproll.

The embodiment of FIG. 4 includes a drive means indicated generally bythe reference numeral 130. This drive means comprises a back geararrangement in which a shaft 132 is rotatably supported in an extension134 of the adjustment member 72. Secured to that shaft 132 for rotationtherewith are a pair of gears 136,138. The gear 136 is in meshingengagement with a gear 140 secured for rotation to the shaft 60. Theouter gear 138 is in meshing engagement with a gear 12 rotatablysupported on the end 92 of the shaft 60. The gear 142 includes as anintegral extension therefrom an eccentric 144 which corresponds to theeccentric 90 of the embodiment of FIG. 1. However, unlike the eccentric90, the eccentric portion 144 is rotatable relative to the shaft 60.

With the described arrangement, the drive means 130 is operable torotate the eccentric 144 relative to the shaft 60 of the pick-up roll16. This is accomplished in the following manner. The gear 140 rotateswith the shaft 60 and is consequently driven at the same rotationalspeed and direction as the pick-up roll 16. The gear 136 has a pitchdiameter which is greater than the pitch diameter of the gear 140. As aresult, the shaft 132 is rotated through the meshing engagement of thegears 136,140 at a speed less than the rotational speed of the shaft 60.The gears 138 and 142 further cooperate to reduce the rotational speedof the eccentric 144. in this manner the eccentric 144 will slowlyrotate to move the pick-up roll 16 toward the fountain roll 12 while,independently of this movement, the pick-up roll 16 will rotate at aconstant and higher speed.

It will be appreciated that the gears of the drive means 130 may bechanged to alter the rotational speed of the eccentric 144 and,consequently, vary the rate of movement of the pick-up roll toward andaway from the fountain roll. In this manner, the drive means may be usedto rotate the eccentric 144 at a speed less than or greater than therotational speed of the shaft Having described my invention, 1 claim:

1. A liquid handling mechanism comprising at least three rotatablerolls, said rolls including a liquid carrying roll and a liquidreceiving roll adapted to receive liquid from the liquid carrying rolland a pickup roll for transferring the liquid from the liquid carryingroll to the liquid receiving roll, said pick-up roll including shaftends that rotate with the pick-up roll, support arm means rotatablysupporting said shaft ends of said pickup roll, means supporting saidsupport arm means for pivotal movement about a pivotal axissubstantially coextensive with the rotational axis of said liquidreceiving roll, means for effecting said pivotal movement of said pickuproll about said pivotal axis toward and away from said liquid carryingroll to pick up liquid therefrom and deliver same to said liquidreceiving roll including eccentric means drivingly connected with saidshaft ends of said pick-up roll, said eccentric means om risi at east 0e eccentric member mounted on ami gncircimg at i east one of said shaftends, means mating with said eccentric member and supporting saideccentric member for rotation relative thereto and holding saideccentric member form bodily shifting movement relative to said liquidreceiving roll, and drive means drivingly connecting said one shaft endand said eccentric member for rotating said eccentric member relative tosaid mating member upon rotation of said one shaft end.

2. A liquid handling mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein said drivemeans comprises a drive key drivingly connecting said eccentric memberand said one shaft end.

3. A liquid handling mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein saideccentric member is rotatably supported on said one shaft end and saiddrive means comprises gearing drivingly interconnecting said one shaftend and said eccentric member to rotate said eccentric member relativeto said one shaft end.

4. A liquid handling mechanism as defined in claim 1 further includingmeans driving said liquid receiving roll, and said pick-up roll and saidliquid receiving roll are supported in peripheral contact and saidpick-up roll being rotated by said peripheral contact.

1. A liquid handling mechanism comprising at least three rotatablerolls, said rolls including a liquid carrying roll and a liquidreceiving roll adapted to receive liquid from the liquid carrying rolland a pickup roll for transferring the liquid from the liquid carryingroll to the liquid receiving roll, said pickup roll including shaft endsthat rotate with the pick-up roll, support arm means rotatablysupporting said shaft ends of said pick-up roll, means supporting saidsupport arm means for pivotal movement about a pivotal axissubstantially coextensive with the rotational axis of said liquidreceiving roll, means for effecting said pivotal movement of said pickuproll about said pivotal axis toward and away from said liquid carryingroll to pick up liquid therefrom and deliver same to said liquidreceiving roll including eccentric means drivingly connected with saidshaft ends of said pick-up roll, said eccentric means comprising atleast one eCcentric member mounted on and encircling at least one ofsaid shaft ends, means mating with said eccentric member and supportingsaid eccentric member for rotation relative thereto and holding saideccentric member form bodily shifting movement relative to said liquidreceiving roll, and drive means drivingly connecting said one shaft endand said eccentric member for rotating said eccentric member relative tosaid mating member upon rotation of said one shaft end.
 2. A liquidhandling mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein said drive meanscomprises a drive key drivingly connecting said eccentric member andsaid one shaft end.
 3. A liquid handling mechanism as defined in claim 1wherein said eccentric member is rotatably supported on said one shaftend and said drive means comprises gearing drivingly interconnectingsaid one shaft end and said eccentric member to rotate said eccentricmember relative to said one shaft end.
 4. A liquid handling mechanism asdefined in claim 1 further including means driving said liquid receivingroll, and said pick-up roll and said liquid receiving roll are supportedin peripheral contact and said pick-up roll being rotated by saidperipheral contact.